Lakeside Hospital, Texas, United States

Healing power

$28.5 million hospital designed for specialty care

Lakeside Hospital, designed by RTKL, is the newest addition to the St Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital in Houston, Texas. The $28 million facility focuses on three areas of excellence in medicine - cardiology, sports medicine and orthopaedic/spine care.

The new 8300 sq m, stand-alone hospital includes 30 inpatient beds, six operating rooms, and three cardiac catheterization labs, as well as the latest diagnostic imaging technologies. With shell space and the flexibility to add on, the facility has been planned for growth.

John Seely, lead project designer for RTKL said: “Lakeside is an all-digital specialty facility designed to support the latest medical technology and advanced clinical protocols. St. Luke’s wanted the hospital to be easily identifiable as a new state-of-the-art facility, yet blend with the existing medical centre. In response, we designed a contemporary building with elements that have their own unique form and material. These help brand and differentiate Lakeside. And yet, the building blends harmoniously with other campus buildings because we used a material palette with colours and textures seen throughout the campus.”

RTKL created spaces with views of a bucolic three-acre lake located on the St. Luke’s campus. Adjacent to the main lobby is the restaurant, Lakeside Café, and a glass chapel overlooking the lake. Outdoors, on the first level, a covered gathering space is just steps from the water, while inside, large windows in patient rooms and public spaces ensure that the lake is easily visible. The hospital is also positioned so that patients, family members, employees and visitors are able to enjoy the view of the lake when they enter from the major boulevard.